By Ayo Akinfe
Once more, the planet calls on Nigeria — the world’s largest Black nation — to step forward in the face of a climatic and ecological crisis. As the giant of Africa, we cannot afford to sit back while humanity gasps for breath. Our foreign policy must align with fellow developing nations in our economic bracket, and I would begin with an ecological pact with Malaysia and Indonesia.
Both Indonesia and Malaysia have exhausted their land resources in the pursuit of socio-economic development, destroying vast swathes of tropical rainforest in the process. These rainforests, often described as “the lungs of the earth,” are vital to our survival. Without Nigeria’s intervention, the planet risks suffocation. There is no alternative on the table.
What breaks my heart most is the plight of the Bornean orangutan. This magnificent primate, found only on the island of Borneo, has seen its population decline by 60% since 1950, leaving just 47,000 in the wild. Nigeria has the land to open sanctuaries in tropical states like Ondo, Cross River, Edo, or Delta, offering these creatures a lifeline. If we do not act, extinction will be on our conscience.
The situation in Sumatra is even more dire. The Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutans are critically endangered, with fewer than 14,000 and 800 individuals respectively. The Tapanuli orangutan is now the most endangered great ape in the world. Nigeria must step in, not only to preserve biodiversity but to cement its role as a global ecological leader.
Beyond conservation, there are economic realities. Crops such as cocoa and palm oil depend on rainforest canopies. Malaysia and Indonesia will soon run out of land to grow them. Nigeria should prepare by establishing joint venture plantation companies, ensuring that for every facility opened in Southeast Asia, a parallel plantation and processing plant is built in Nigeria. We have the rainforest; they do not.
Land hunger is a looming threat. Unless Nigeria expands her land mass by merging with Niger, Cameroon, and Benin, we too will face the crisis Malaysia and Indonesia now endure. Our rainforest states — Ondo, Ekiti, Taraba, Edo, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Anambra, Ebonyi, Ogun — must be ringfenced against industrial expansion. Niger Republic, with its 80% desert terrain, offers space for mega cities, solar farms, and industrial estates without harming the planet.
Malaysia’s $350 million solar plant in Johor devastated its environment, yet it was built anyway. Nigeria can build a plant ten times larger in Niger’s Sahara Desert without felling a single tree. This is the kind of ecological foresight our foreign policy must embrace.
I look forward to governors of Nigeria’s rainforest states drafting a conservation agreement to present to Malaysia and Indonesia. Imagine a special rainforest park spanning Edo and Ondo, built as a symbol of ecological solidarity. If the Nigerian Governors Forum were truly firing on all cylinders, such initiatives would overshadow debates about who sits in Aso Rock.
I look forward to governors of Nigeria’s rainforest states drafting a conservation agreement to present to Malaysia and Indonesia. Imagine a special rainforest park spanning Edo and Ondo, built as a symbol of ecological solidarity. If the Nigerian Governors Forum were truly firing on all cylinders, such initiatives would overshadow debates about who sits in Aso Rock.Nigeria must lead. Humanity depends on it.
📧 ayoakinfe@gmail.com
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